Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said the Parliament alone has got powers to pass any law regarding citizenship and not a state legislatures, "including Kerala assembly."
His assertion came hours after the Kerala Assembly passed a resolution seeking scrapping of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which provides Indian nationality to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
"It is only the Parliament which has got the powers to pass any law with regard to citizenship; not any assembly, including Kerala Assembly," he told a press conference here. However, it is to be noted here that the Kerala assembly did not pass any law, but only a resolution against the CAA.
Prasad said the CAA did not relate to Indian citizens and that it neither creates nor takes away citizenship.
Recalling that late Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had provided citizenship to minorities from Uganda and Sri Lankan Tamils, respectively, he wondered why was it ok if Congress did so and "it is a problem" when Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah did the same.
"This is double standards and hypocrisy of the worst order," he said strongly defending the CAA which has triggered protests across the country in the past weeks.